A grower picks the tea leaves used in making Tiantai Yunwu Tea. [Photo/taizhou.com.cn]

Tiantai Yunwu Tea, with a brand value of 1.147 billion yuan ($158.27 million), became the only tea from Taizhou, Zhejiang province to be listed in the 2024 China Tea Regional Public Brand Value Evaluation Report.

Tiantai Yunwu Tea is a national geographical indication product grown on the peaks of Tiantai Mountain, with those on Huading Peak enjoying the most popularity, hence the historically popular alternative name of "Huading Yunwu Tea".

The tea features a straight-forward appearance with a lasting fragrance, a green color, and tightly rolled tea leaves. From picking the leaves to enhancing their aroma and drying them out, the traditional processes and skills used in producing Tiantai Yunwu Tea have been accumulated and passed down orally for generations.

The production process today still relies on the valuable experience and inherited knowledge of the local tea makers, including attention to details such as the temperature of enzyme inactivation, the intensity of rolling, and the timing of drying.